Caelan Hancroft

You know that song “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks? That’s how I feel about my life, both RL and SL actually. I have lots of roles in both lives, but the best thing about SL to me is I can reinvent myself at any time. Back to the song… I’ve been a lot of things in SL. I’ve been an estate manager, a store and mall manager, a blogger. Well, I’ve been more but that’s all I’ll readily admit to for fear of future blackmail.

I’m a blogger… Well, not so much these days but for over two years, my nights were spent in SL shopping, taking pictures, and playing in Photoshop. It’s fun to look at where you’ve been and where you are, the improvements you’ve made and the amazing improvements in SL. After almost daily blogging, I was in a rut and bored and needed something new and challenging. Maybe I fell off my platform and hit my head, but I decided I was going to learn to create mesh.

It wasn’t my first attempt at Blender. All my previous attempts went something like this: download, install, open, stare at default box, scream in terror and close. I’m a technical person – my entire professional career has been in development and other IT roles – but Blender scared the crap out of me every time.

I watched tutorials, read books, and just tinkered in Blender. I made a submarine and was as proud of it as the kid with his unidentifiable ash tray in shop class. This time was different. Most likely because I had a supportive group of friends who encouraged me to stick with it (and who put up with countless screenshots and my whining).

It all sounds so easy – read, watch, do. It isn’t. Most days I was ready to throw my laptop out the window and I’m really glad I color my hair in RL because I’m pretty sure it’s given me gray hairs (what I can’t see, doesn’t exist). Every spare moment I had, I was in Blender. By November, I had created enough to open a store and am continuing to add to it.

I’m a creator… or at least growing into one.

Bio: Caelan Hancroft has been an SL resident since December 2007. She is a rare and elusive creature that spends most of her SL time being bratty to her closest friends and is found most often standing on platforms with her head buried in Blender.